The Next Generation of Policies for Scaling Up Renewable Energy

PLEASE Note: This event was cancelled due to security concerns following the Boston Marathon tragedy. While the symposium will not be rescheduled in its original form, we do intend to reschedule a celebration in honor of Professor Moomaw in the fall.

According to the Renewable Energy Global Status Report of 2012, renewable energy now accounts for 17 percent of global energy consumption, and of this total modern renewable energy technologies account for approximately half. More remarkably, renewables accounted for more than half of the capacity added to the electricity sector in 2011 and total renewable electricity capacity reached 1,360 GW. Renewable energy technologies are now among the fastest-growing with solar PV operating capacity growing 58% annually between 2006 and 2011 and wind power growing 26%. China recently emerged as the country with the greatest renewable power capacity in the world. These figures symbolize progress in the deployment of renewable energy technologies that was inconceivable to many only a decade ago. Beginning in the 1990s, government market-formation policies at the national and sub-national levels created strong incentives for renewable energy industries to invest in renewable energy technologies and enter favorable markets to sell their products. Many governments also supported research, development, and demonstration of renewable energy technologies as well. In a new Global Futures Reporton renewable energy, different scenarios about the future are explored, and many of them rely upon developments in policy.

The main question for this symposium is: What is the next generation of policies that are needed to scale up renewable energy to the next level? Many related questions will be explored as well, such as:

How could renewable technologies be integrated into existing infrastructure: utility power grids, buildings, industry, and transport. Does integration require new policies and planning approaches?

Given that a global market has emerged for renewable energy technologies through the cumulative policies of national and sub-national governments, would there be any scaling-up benefit from policy coordination or even harmonization among governments?

How does scaling up renewable energy depend on significant improvements in energy efficiency?

Are capital constraints a major barrier to scaling up, and if so, is there a role for governments to play?

How can we balance large-scale renewable energy projects with decentralized, distributed projects?

How does public acceptance affect the scaling up of renewable energy technologies?